Four Tips On Finding And Securing The Best (New) Talent For Your Enterprise Communication is key, and proactively reaching out to prospective applicants can be an effective way to entice people to join your company.
By Peter Cleverton •
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Finding the best-fit employees is hard and is getting harder and harder every day as a fresh wave of recent graduates enters the workforce. Businesses are looking to speed up the hiring process to meet their changing demands, but are missing some important factors to consider in their newly acquired talent. More employers are accepting the fact that hiring expectations have drastically changed over the years, and they are now looking for new ways to find and secure the best new talent. So, how are HR departments ensuring that they are recruiting the top talent needed for their companies to thrive? Here are four tips on doing just that:
1. SEARCH HIGH AND LOW Many companies are now having to search for candidates in new places, both online and offline, to meet their recruitment needs. The HireRight 2019 EMEA Employment Screening Benchmark Report found that company websites, online job boards, and referrals were the top channels used for recruitment in the region. However, 37% of businesses also ranked both social networking and outside recruiters/temp agencies as one of their top three methods of finding and recruiting new candidates. Interestingly, 18% of businesses ranked university or college programs as their top recruitment channel, although it only ranked 6th overall. This shows that almost a fifth of companies surveyed are primarily focusing their employment efforts on attracting recent university/college alumni– good news for any fresh graduate job seekers looking to gain their first professional role.
2. INVEST IN HR TECHNOLOGY According to HireRight's research, more than a third of HR departments plan to invest in new technologies in the next year to assist in the acquisition and management of talent. It is clear that HR professionals are in agreement that technology has the power to change the face of the profession, by helping reduce the time to hire and increasing efficiency in their processes. 45% of those surveyed have put aside more than 10% of their entire departmental budget in 2019 to invest in HR technology. But which technologies are they looking to invest in? Whilst 42% of companies think that artificial intelligence (AI) recruiting technology is going to be the biggest game changer this year, fewer than 10% are planning to invest in any AI technologies this year. It looks like the future is close, but only the brave are willing to be the pioneers. Instead, it looks like Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and Human Capital Management (HCM) software are likely to be the big investments in the next 12 months, with 44% of businesses looking to invest in each of these areas.
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3. IMPROVE COMMUNICATION WITH JOB APPLICANTS In this competitive hiring market, employers are now expected to be more responsive to their applicants, to ensure the best ones don't slip through their fingers. Most candidates will no longer wait for weeks for an email reply to a job application– and they shouldn't have to either! Some companies have now made their recruiters immediately contactable via social media messaging apps (such as Facebook Messenger), or live chat built into their company website. This allows them to address any questions potential candidates may have about open positions or discuss roles informally before they submit an application. Communication is key, and proactively reaching out to prospective applicants on your website can be an effective way to entice people to join your company.
4. VERIFY CANDIDATE INFORMATION Once you've found your new prospective employees, the challenge is onboarding them swiftly, but also safely– by verifying their details, including their identity and education credentials. Having accurate education qualifications is essential when assessing recent graduates, as they are likely to have limited work experience. In this year's Benchmark survey, HireRight found that 74% of EMEA businesses said that they checked their candidates' educational qualifications, and 49% of businesses found discrepancies in that area. Worryingly, 83% of businesses have found discrepancies in their candidates' CVs and job applications. These statistics show that candidates often feel the need to lie or exaggerate their grades to secure a new role, in spite of the risk of embarrassment (and of course not getting the job) if they're found out. Background screening can help businesses uncover misrepresentations in CVs, particularly in relation to fabricated or altered education qualifications. By implementing a thorough screening program, businesses can make sure that they are hiring candidates that have been truthful, and have the skills and qualifications stated on their CVs.
